David Shepard, well-known producer of home video editions of silent era films, and Joe Adamson, author of a number of books on cartoons and the Marx Brothers, originally compiled this collection of comedy films for videotape and laserdisc release in 1998. Now available on DVD, this boxset contains an assorted collection of films by well-known to obscure comedians active in the silent era. Many of the films are funny and some are merely curious, but nearly all are well-presented from very-good to excellent prints.

The Slapstick Encyclopedia collection will give many viewers their first opportunity to experience the work of some funny men and women, and is extensive enough to give a good perspective of the development of cinema comedy and of the slapstick sub-genre. The sheer number of films, exceeding 18 hours of running time, should make fans and collectors gloat, like a Ford Sterling villain parody, in greedy anticipation. — Carl Bennett

One Too Many (1916) with Oliver Hardy and Billy Ruge. Plump (Hardy) needs a wife and baby to please his rich uncle. Runt (Ruge) and others are enlisted to help. Mayhem ensues. Transferred from a very-good 16mm reduction print, without its main title. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison, which abruptly ends.

The Wrong Mr. Fox (1917) with Victor Moore. Ham actor Jimmie Fox (Moore) bound for Canaan, Vermont, is mistaken for Reverend John Fox bound for Canaan, New Hampshire. Jimmie’s ‘sermon’ is funny. From a very-good 35mm print. Accompanied by pipe organ music by Ken Rosen.

Mr. Flip (1909) with Ben Turpin (before his crosseyed character). Mr. Flip (Turpin) puts the ‘move’ on a series of disinterested females. From a very-good 16mm print. Accompanied by Fotoplayer music by Robert Israel.

Alkali Ike’s Auto (1911) with Augustus Carney. Alkali Ike (Carney) tries oneupsmanship with Mustang Pete for a widow’s affections, and ends up with an auto that is more trouble than it’s worth. From a very-good 35mm print that is missing its beginning and has a few splices. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

Fox Trot Finesse (1915) with Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew. Reticent Ferdie Crosby (Drew) is forced by Mrs. Crosby (Lucille McVey Drew) to take up dancing, and he fakes a foot injury to get out of it. From a very-good composite 35mm and 16mm-based reconstruction print. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

A Cure for Pokeritis (1912) with John Bunny and Flora Finch. A losing poker player (Bunny) swears off gambling for his wife (Finch), but cannot stop. From an excellent, though slightly worn, 35mm print with several splices. Accompanied by piano and violin music by Robert Israel.

Be My Wife (1921) with Max Linder. This abridged version of Linder’s very funny American feature comedy has Max (Linder) vying for Mary’s hand in marriage over the objections of Aunt Agatha (Flora Finch) who favors rotund Simon. From a very-good, though jittery, 35mm print. Accompanied by piano and violin music by Robert Israel.

A Natural Born Gambler (1916) with Bert Williams. Bert (Williams) is a member of a society that pretends to be against the gambling that they love. Williams heads a nearly all-black cast. From a very-good, but uneven and jittery, 35mm print with a number of splices. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Eric Beheim.

The Sennett program begins with Mabel’s Dramatic Career (1913) with Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett. Housemaid Mabel takes up film acting after beau Mack falls for another woman. From a very-good 16mm print of the ‘Keystone Eagle Films’ rerelease version known as Her Dramatic Debut. Accompanied by Fotoplayer music by Robert Israel.

Barney Oldfield’s Race for a Life (1913) with Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett. In this parody of film melodramas, Mabel is abducted by the moustached villain (Ford Sterling) and tied to railroad tracks until rescued, with the help of famous race car driver Barney Oldfield. From an excellent 35mm print (with an insert shot of the rescue from a good 16mm print). Accompanied by marimba music, with sound effects, by Michael Holland and the Ko-Ko-Nuts Theater Orchestra.

The Rounders (1914) with Charles Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle. Two drunks avoid their wives and disrupt a restaurant. From a very-good 16mm print that is missing its main title and the intertitles that still exist in other prints. The print and transfer are far better than the home video edition of the film from Kino International available on VHS, also previously released on laserdisc in 1988. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by an ensemble.

A Muddy Romance (1913) with Mabel Normand and Ford Sterling. A young couple (Normand and Sterling) fend off the overtures of any undesired suitor by draining a park lake. From a very-good, though worn and sometimes jittery, 35mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

A Movie Star (1916) with Mack Swain and Louella Maxim. Jack (Swain) is a big movie star, who goes to a neighborhood nickelodeon to see one of his own films. From a very-good 16mm print. Accompanied by Fotoplayer music by Robert Israel.

Teddy at the Throttle (1917) with Gloria Swanson and Bobby Vernon. Gloria loves Bobbie, but their guardian, Henry Black (Wallace Beery), wants to make himself rich with Bobbie’s estate and keep Gloria for himself. The jilted Black ties Gloria to railroad tracks in revenge. Will Teddy the dog save her in time? From an excellent, though worn, 35mm print. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by a small orchestra.

Disc 2 contains the programs “Sennett in the Twenties” and “Funny Girls: Genders and Their Benders.”

Saturday Afternoon (1926) with Harry Langdon. Harry escapes his controlling wife (Alice Ward) to spend a weekend afternoon with a friend and two women. From an excellent 35mm print. The same transfer as is available on DVD from Kino. Accompanied by piano music by Donald Sosin.

Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies (1925) with Billy Bevan and Andy Clyde. An inventor designs a series of radio-controlled cars that tend to misbehave. From a very-good, and slightly worn, 35mm print. Accompanied by pipe organ music by Ken Rosen.

Wandering Willies (1926) with Billy Bevan and Andy Clyde. Two tramps get into a series of manic scrapes. From an excellent 35mm print. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by a small orchestra.

Circus Today (1926) with Billy Bevan and Andy Clyde. Billy and Andy are part of a series of mishaps in a travelling circus. From a sepia-toned Blackhawk preservation print, with replaced intertitles, prepared from a very-good but worn 35mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Eric Beheim.

Two Harry Langdon films, previously available on DVD, have been added to this program: His Marriage Wow (1925) with Langdon and Vernon Dent as a spooky pessimist, transferred from a very-good sepia-toned 16mm print, with synthesizer music by Eric Beheim; and All Night Long (1924) with Langdon and Vernon Dent, transferred from an excellent 35mm print, accompanied by piano music by Philip Carli.

The Funny Girls program begins with The Detectress (1919) with Gale Henry. Lizzie (Henry) is an undercover detective on the trail of a robber that leads her to Chinatown. From a sepia-toned composite print comprised of a very good 16mm print augmented by a small number of shots from a very-good 35mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Eric Beheim.

One Wet Night (1924) with Alice Howell and Bert Roach. A young wife (Howell) and her husband cope with a rainy day. From a very-good 16mm print that is missing its main title and its ending. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

Know Thy Wife (1918) with Dorothy De Vore and Earl Rodney. Bob (Rodney) and Betty (De Vore) are engaged, even though his parents are expecting Lillian (Leota Lorraine) to be their daughter-in-law. To fool them, Betty dresses as Bob’s friend, Steve. From a very-good 16mm print. Accompanied by pipe organ music by Ken Rosen.

Rowdy Ann (1919) with Fay Tincher. Ann (Tincher) is a cowgirl who holds her own in a small cattle town out West and in a girls’ finishing school in the East. From a very-good 16mm print. Accompanied by synthsizer music by Eric Beheim.

Hearts and Flowers (1919) with Louise Fazenda and Ford Sterling. A hotel orchestra leader (Sterling) pitches woo to a flower girl (Fazenda) when he thinks she’s a millionaire heiress. Phyllis Haver and the Sennett Bathing Beauties also appear. From a preservation print, with new intertitles, prepared from a very-good 35mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music and sound effects by Eric Beheim.

Oh, Doctor! (1917) with Roscoe Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. Roscoe is a doctor with a family and the gambling bug, who needs new patients to cover his losses. Buster plays the doctor’s young son. From a very-good, though contrasty, 35mm print, with new intertitles and a new main title. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

The Boat (1921) with Buster Keaton. Buster and his family take their home-made boat to sea. From a very-good 35mm print, with some decomposition and print wear. Identical transfer to that available on Kino DVD and VHS. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by an ensemble.

The Hal Roach program begins with Oranges and Lemons (1923) with Stan Laurel. Stan is an incompetent worker in a fruit packing house. From an excellent 35mm print. Accompanied by ynthesizer music by Brian Benison.

Mighty Like a Moose (1926) with Charley Chase. Mr. Moose (Chase) has saved money to secretly correct his buck teeth and Mrs. Moose (Vivien Oakland) has saved money for a secret nose job. The two don’t recognize each other on the street and flirt shamelessly. From an excellent color-toned 35mm print. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by an ensemble.

Big Moments from Little Pictures (1924) with Will Rogers. Rogers parodies Blood and Sand (1922), Robin Hood (1922), Over the Hills (192?) and the Keystone Kops. From an excellent 35mm print, with some sections of print decomposition. Accompanied by canned orchestral music, organ music, and guitar and harmonica music.

Haunted Spooks (1920) with Harold Lloyd, previously available on DVD, has been added to this program. Harold must spend the night in a haunted house with his last-minute bride for her to inherit it. From a very-good to excellent, though incomplete, 35mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Eric Beheim.

Disc 4 contains the programs “Hal Roach: The Lot of Fun” and “Chaplin and the Music Hall Tradition.”

Laurel and Hardy Laugh Toons (1978) is a modern short subject that includes portions of the Laurel and Hardy silents Angora Love (1929), You’re Darn Tootin’ (1928), Liberty (1929) and The Battle of the Century (1927). From a 35mm print, minus intertitles, comprised of very-good to excellent 35mm elements. Accompanied by an orchestral music score from the original Laugh Toons soundtrack.

Dogs of War! (1923) with Hal Roach’s Rascals (Our Gang). The gang defends Kelly’s tomato patch against invasion by other neighborhood kids. The buildings and grounds of the Hal Roach Studios (“West Coast Studios”) are clearly seen in the film. From a very-good 35mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

Fluttering Hearts (1927) with Charley Chase and Oliver Hardy. Charley helps his girl’s rich father retrieve a compromizing letter from a blackmailing thug (Hardy). From a very-good, slightly sepia-toned, 35mm print that is missing its main titles. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

It’s a Gift (1923) with Snub Pollard. Snub is an inventor who develops a gasoline substitute. From an excellent though slightly contrasty 35mm print. Accompanied by canned orchestral music.

The Chaplin program begins with A Night in the Show (1915) with Charles Chaplin. Chaplin plays Mr. Pest and Mr. Rowdy in this elaboration of his famous drunken vaudeville routine. From a very-good 35mm print that is missing its main titles. Identical presentation to the film’s appearance on the Essanay films DVD. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by an ensemble.

[A Rare Chaplin Snippet] (1916) with Charles Chaplin. Chaplin conducts a small band in this improvised film that has been tentatively identified as shot during a benefit appearance at New York’s Hippodrome Theatre in February 1916. From a good 16mm print. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by an ensemble.

The Rink (1916) with Charles Chaplin. Charlie is a waiter that disrupts a skating rink and wins the girl from Mr. Stout (Eric Campbell). From an excellent 35mm print. The windowboxed presentation is identical to that available on the Mutual series DVD. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Michael Mortilla.

Live Wires and Love Sparks (1916) with Billie Ritchie. Bill (Ritchie) is a lay-about who avoids the bill collectors and attempts to woo a neighbor’s wife at a masked ball. From a good to very-good 35mm print, with new intertitles, that is missing its main title and ending footage. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

He’s in Again (1918) with Billy West and Oliver Hardy. A penniless tramp (West) works off his restaurant bill. The straw-hatted wolf/boxer is ex-Chaplin cast member Leo White. From an excellent 35mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

Pie-Eyed (1925) with Stan Laurel. A drunk (Laurel) disrupts a dinner club restaurant, then ends up inthe wrong apartment. From a 35mm reconstruction print with new intertitles and that is without a main title, that is comprised of a number of very-good to excellent 35mm and 16mm elements. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by an ensemble.

Only Me (1929) with Lupino Lane. A drunk (Lane) attends a vaudeville show. Lane plays nearly all the roles. From an excellent 35mm print, with new intertitles, that is missing its main titles. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

Disc 5 contains the programs “The Race is On” and “Tons of Fun: The Anarchic Fringe.”

Water Wagons (1925) with Andy Clyde and Sid Smith. Andy is an inventor of a new aerodynamic racing boat. From a 35mm reconstruction print comprised of a very-good 35mm print and a very-good 16mm print. Accompanied by Fotoplayer music by Robert Israel.

Out Bound (1924) with Sid Smith and Cliff Bowes. Dandy Sid takes Cliff’s job as a delivery truck driver. From an excellent 35mm print. Accompanied by pipe organ music by Ken Rosen.

Chasing Choo-Choos (1927) with Monty Banks. Monty foils a scheme to bilk an heiress and ends up rescuing her from a runaway train. A condensed version of the feature comedy Play Safe (1927). From a combination of good to very-good, but jittery, 35mm and 16mm prints. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Eric Beheim.

Danger Ahead (1926) with Jack Cooper. In this melodramatic parody, the villain and his henchmen are after the contents of a safe. From an excellent sepia-toned 35mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Eric Beheim.

The Tons of Fun program begins with Yukon Jake (1924) starring Ben Turpin. A small Western town sheriff (Turpin) tracks outlaw Yukon Jake (Kalla Pasha) to the frozen north. From a very-good to excellent, but worn, 35mm print. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by an ensemble.

Three of a Kind (1926) with Frank Alexander, Hillard ‘Fat’ Karr and ‘Kewpie’ Ross (“A Ton of Fun”). The Barrel Brothers entertain at a restaurant. From a very-good 16mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music by Brian Benison.

Dry and Thirsty (1920) with Billy Bletcher. Billy tries to get a drink in Prohibition times. From a very-good 35mm print. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by an ensemble.

Family Life (1924) with Mark Jones and Sunshine Hart. The new neighbors make a mess of a duplex home and capture Gypsy Joe and his gang. From a very-good sepia-toned 35mm print. Accompanied by synthesizer music score by Brian Benison.

Now You Tell One (1926) with Charley Bowers. A society of liars get together to compete against one another, but won’t believe Charley’s story. From an excellent 35mm print, with new intertitles and no main titles. Accompanied by music by Robert Israel, performed by an ensemble.

All of the films are transferred full-frame, except The Rink. Some of the 16mm prints are tightly cropped, which makes some of the insert shots of telegrams and some intertitles incomplete on some television monitors.

Much of the musical accompaniment is very-good to excellent. We are most pleased with the music by Robert Israel, Rodney Sauer and Ken Rosen.

Overall, we are less than impressed with the three bonus films included in this new DVD set — all of them have previously appeared on Shepard-produced home videos. However, we are generally overjoyed at high-quality of many of the films that are presented here. Some of these films have been available on public-domain videotapes for years, but here they are presented in their best available form on home video from the best surviving materials. The introductions to the films have a number of typographical errors in them, but provide brief and sometimes valuable background information to each of the films. For the number of films and the gargantuan length of the program, this DVD set is well worth the comparatively modest cost. We highly recommend this DVD edition of the Slapstick Encyclopedia.

This budget edition of the mammoth silent comedy collection has been released by the questionable company historically responsible for some of the worst-looking silent film DVDs ever released. However, it is apparent that the video masters prepared by producer David Shepard have been licensed and utilized for this cheap edition.

We caution that disc mastering makes a huge difference in the visual quality of DVDs. Since the content has been manufactured onto five double-sided discs, and if proper care has been taken to master the DVDs, the visual quality should be comparable to the 2002 Image edition noted above.